Recovery: A SteinSpirit Fic
by The Profuscus
Summary: A Spein fic set just after the the Kishin, Asura, was defeated
1. Ch 1: A Wisp of Smoke

Chapter 1:

Spirit sighed as he pushed the door to Stein's eerie house open. He'd never liked this damn house, _especially_ now that he knew Stein had experimented on him here. "Stein?" Spirit called. Lord Death had sent him to check up on Stein since he'd been refusing to talk to Marie. Spirit was eager to leave, and was just turning to go, when he noticed a wisp of smoke drifting from down the hallway. Spirit sighed again. It looked like he'd be talking to Stein today after all. Down the hallway was Stein's lab, where Stein would sit typing endlessly away at his computer, only pausing occasionally to twist the massive screw in his head. Even from the opposite end of the hallway, Spirit could see the artificial glow from the computer's monitor. Spirit set off down the hallway, his breath frosting into clouds in front of him. He had forgotten how damned cold this place was. When Spirit reached the room at the end of the hall, he was unsurprised to find Stein hunched over at his computer, the endless lines of numbers reflecting off of his glasses. Stein reached his hand up to the side of his head and turned the screw once, twice, three times as a curl of smoke rose up from the cigarette resting between his lips. Spirit hesitated. He hadn't thought about what he was going to say to Stein. Perhaps he could just leave. '_Stein surely hasn't noticed my presence yet!' _He turned and took a few muffled steps towards the hallway before he was interrupted by Stein's low chuckle. "Going somewhere, Senpai?" He asked.  
'_Shit.'_


	2. Ch 2: An Unnerving Stare

Chapter 2:

"H-hey, Stein." Spirit stuttered. "Why are you here?" Stein asked. "Uh, Lord Death asked me to check up on you since you won't talk to Marie anymore. What's going on?" "Nothing. I'm perfectly fine; I've just been engrossed in my work, that's all. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get back to work." There was an edge of warning to Stein's voice that was telling Spirit to drop the issue and leave, but Spirit had been partners - and before that - friends with Stein for a long time. He was concerned. "Stein?" He started to say. Stein turned his chair around and looked Spirit in the eyes. Stein's stare was unnerving, and Spirit's tension was growing. "I am _fine_, Senpai. Why don't you get out of here and go see Maka? I'm sure she'd be delighted to see you." Stein turned back to his computer. Stein was a very gifted liar and always had been, but Spirit knew him better than most, and wasn't as easily convinced by the smooth words that flowed off of Stein's tongue. Spirit sighed. "Just, talk to Marie, okay?" Reluctantly, Spirit turned and and headed towards the exit to Stein's creepy house, with a nagging thought in the back of his mind. _'He's hiding something. He needs my help.'_ Spirit thought, before he pushed open the lab's front doors and stepped outside.


	3. Ch 3: Feeling Conflicted

Chapter 3:

As Spirit exited Stein's lab, he felt a sense of guilt pressing on his shoulders. _'I shouldn't have left like that. I should've at least tried to talk to him. He needs help.'_ Spirit thought. He sighed, and began to make the trip back to DWMA so that he could report to Lord Death in person.

•

Stein listened to the sound of his front doors opening and then closing. He felt a small comfort in knowing that he was alone once again. Stein never wanted to be around anyone ever again, unless he was dissecting them. Anyone who got near him got hurt in some way, and there were some people that he didn't want to hurt. Marie, Maka and all the other students, Spirit... _especially_ not Spirit._ 'I've done enough damage there already.' _Stein thought to himself. Everyone thought that Stein had been cured of the madness however, that was not _quite_ true. Most of the madness that had infected Stein was gone, but it was a long road to a full recovery. And since Stein wasn't exactly mentally stable to begin with, there was always a chance of relapse. He couldn't bear to hurt any of the few people he cared about again. Stein knew he'd have to start speaking with Marie, if only to avoid frequent house calls from Spirit. Stein took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, before replacing them and twisting the screw in his head four times. He sighed. Stein suddenly felt a sense of loneliness and realized that he missed Spirit's company. Stein scowled and returned to his computer. Stein hated feeling conflicted like this. So he blocked out his feelings and began typing again.


End file.
